Defective ChargePoint Home Flex - PSA

[MellowJohnny]

*** UPDATE *****
After @Mach-Lee ran my VIN through FDRS it seems more likely that this is an issue with the on-board charger, and not an issue with the ChargePoint unit.
*****************

In case anyone with a Home Flex encounters the same behaviours:

Plugged the car in Friday night and within a few minutes the Ford Pass App threw a charging errors. Went outside, and sure enough it has stopped. Plugged it back in, charging started, and then a few minutes later...another fault. Repeated the unplug / plug cycle one more time...fault. So to eliminate the car as possibly the culprit I went to the mall and used a L2 public charger - no problem. Tried the Ford portable charger...no problem. So it seems like it's not the car.

So I unplugged the unit and started again. Same result. Rebooted from the App...same result. Left it plugged in for a while and noticed it was charging, stopping, charging again, stopping again...etc. The charging graph in the ChargePoint App looked like the Rocky Mountains. Seems completely different from the derating bug, as it ramps up, then stops. Then five minutes later the cycle starts all over again.

Called ChargePoint customer service on Saturday (who were great), walked through a bunch of troubleshooting, re-installed the App, etc...nothing helped. Ultimately they will be replacing the unit.

So if you have a Home Flex and it seems like ChargePoint wants to break up with you, just know it's probably them, not you

So while I wait it's back to the Ford portable charger...at least I'm "orange & blue light" charging.

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[Mach-Lee]

Have you tried it again after getting 23B50 installed? That might change behavior.

Mine did that exactly once and had been fine ever since.

Also, which firmware do you have on the ChargePoint? Mine just got 5.5.3.13 about a week ago. Which might also affect things.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Have you tried it again after getting 23B50 installed? That might change behavior.

Mine did that exactly once and had been fine ever since.

Also, which firmware do you have on the ChargePoint? Mine just got 5.5.3.13 about a week ago. Which might also affect things.

You read my mind Lee - my evening charge to 90% was already complete but I plugged in the Home Flex and hit “Charge to 100%” in Ford Pass and…..it seemed to be fine.

I stopped it at 94% SOC and it drew ~ 8.6 kW for about 20 minutes. I’ll try another longer session tomorrow but it looks promising.

ChargePoint already FedEx’d the replacement out to me Friday, so maybe I’ll just call them and send it back. But needs more testing first - like a week’s worth and I’ll be convinced.

Firmware is on 5.5.2.15 at the moment.

 

[AngryMan]

If you haven't called them yet my advice would be to just let it happen. My Flex had connectivity issues that came and went . Customer service was great and a few of the "fixes" worked ...for a time... then it wouldn't connect again. They finally said they were gonna send a replacement . The second unit is waaaaaay better than the first. Nuisance trips have mostly disappeared and connectivity is top notch now .
Remember the warranty is only for a set period of time . Don't miss your window only to find the current Flex is/was bad all along or had failed and now you are outta warranty .
Just my 2 cents .

 

[MellowJohnny]

If you haven't called them yet my advice would be to just let it happen. My Flex had connectivity issues that came and went . Customer service was great and a few of the "fixes" worked ...for a time... then it wouldn't connect again. They finally said they were gonna send a replacement . The second unit is waaaaaay better than the first. Nuisance trips have mostly disappeared and connectivity is top notch now .
Remember the warranty is only for a set period of time . Don't miss your window only to find the current Flex is/was bad all along or had failed and now you are outta warranty .
Just my 2 cents .

That’s great advice - my wife also suggested I do the swap. She said if Lee wouldn’t have responded to the thread that’s what I’d be doing. New unit should arrive Tuesday.

 

[AngryMan]

I hope you have the same luck with #2 as I did .
BTW if you don't wanna be "Sleeping On The Couch" Johnny ....listen to MRS. MellowJohnny

 

[MellowJohnny]

You read my mind Lee - my evening charge to 90% was already complete but I plugged in the Home Flex and hit “Charge to 100%” in Ford Pass and…..it seemed to be fine.

I stopped it at 94% SOC and it drew ~ 8.6 kW for about 20 minutes. I’ll try another longer session tomorrow but it looks promising.

ChargePoint already FedEx’d the replacement out to me Friday, so maybe I’ll just call them and send it back. But needs more testing first - like a week’s worth and I’ll be convinced.

Firmware is on 5.5.2.15 at the moment.

*** UPDATE *****

Tried charging again twice this afternoon and it's still failing after roughly 15 minutes....looks like it's legitimately pooched...

 

[MellowJohnny]

Just installed the new replacement unit and it's still failing...ramps up to around 8.5 kW and I get a charge fault. Tried it twice, failed twice.

@Mach-Lee any ideas?

I'd like to try lowering the amperage setting from 50A to 40A but the option in Settings is greyed out.

Back to the Ford charger for now....

 

[Mach-Lee]

Just installed the new replacement unit and it's still failing...ramps up to around 8.5 kW and I get a charge fault. Tried it twice, failed twice.

@Mach-Lee any ideas?

I'd like to try lowering the amperage setting from 50A to 40A but the option in Settings is greyed out.

Back to the Ford charger for now....

Does it fault out right away or does it take a while? Send me your VIN so I can check the faults.

Also is there anything weird going on with your electricity at home? Normal voltage levels?

 

[MellowJohnny]

Does it fault out right away or does it take a while? Send me your VIN so I can check the faults.

Also is there anything weird going on with your electricity at home? Normal voltage levels?

It seems to fault anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes after plugging in, but today it was pretty quick, like just a few minutes.

I don't think there is anything odd going on at home with the power - lights aren't flickering or anything like that.

I'll PM my VIN to you - thanks in advance!

 

[LNFitz]

I have Chargepoint Flex and am in a Time of Use charging plan from my utility provider. If I plug it in during a charge time, it faults. I generally have to wait a while before I can correct it thru Fordpass. It initially comes up with only 'charge to 100%' but if I wait a while the choice of 'resume schedule' appears. If I plug it in before the charge time, it starts at the appointed hour and works like a charm.

 

[Mach-Lee]

It seems to fault anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes after plugging in, but today it was pretty quick, like just a few minutes.

I don't think there is anything odd going on at home with the power - lights aren't flickering or anything like that.

I'll PM my VIN to you - thanks in advance!

Alright, you have a U3000:49 code in the SOBDM (on-board charger) which means an internal electronic failure was detected. So it's possible your charger needs to get replaced.

"When powered on, the SOBDM performs an internal self tests and monitors the operation of internal components including DC voltage/current sensor and the AC voltage/current sensor. If an SOBDM internal component failure occurs DTC U3000:49 sets. Presence of this DTC illuminates the Charger Service Required indicator in the IPC and results in the CSI (Charge Status Indicator) flashing a fault pattern and the vehicle will not charge."

When this code is present and keeps coming back, the service manual calls for replacing the on-board charger.

So it might be time to visit the dealer. Perhaps the higher amperage is triggering the internal fault in the charger more so than lower amperage. Tell them they need to test it with a 40+ amp EVSE.

 

[MellowJohnny]

I have Chargepoint Flex and am in a Time of Use charging plan from my utility provider. If I plug it in during a charge time, it faults. I generally have to wait a while before I can correct it thru Fordpass. It initially comes up with only 'charge to 100%' but if I wait a while the choice of 'resume schedule' appears. If I plug it in before the charge time, it starts at the appointed hour and works like a charm.

I've had no issues for six months, then all of a sudden last week-end I plugged in a got a charge fault after about ten minutes. Nothing has changed in six months.

Today troubleshoot with ChargePoint I had them set the amperage down to 40A to limit the draw to 7 kW, which is what the Ford charger delivers and has been pinch-hitting all week with zero issues.

So far at 40A it seems happy (it's been 30 minutes so far), and when we put it back 50A it throws faults as soon as the power ramps up above 7kW.

Support guy asked me to call Ford and ask them if there is some kind of a limit above 8 kW. I can't see how that could be the case, but I'll try.

Also had recall 23B50 done this week - made no difference.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I have Chargepoint Flex and am in a Time of Use charging plan from my utility provider. If I plug it in during a charge time, it faults. I generally have to wait a while before I can correct it thru Fordpass. It initially comes up with only 'charge to 100%' but if I wait a while the choice of 'resume schedule' appears. If I plug it in before the charge time, it starts at the appointed hour and works like a charm.

That shouldn't happen, it should say "Plugged in not charging" without setting an error during on peak. Get 23B50 "charge cord stuck" installed at your dealer if you haven't yet and see if that helps.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Alright, you have a U3000:49 code in the SOBDM (on-board charger) which means an internal electronic failure was detected. So it's possible your charger needs to get replaced.

"When powered on, the SOBDM performs an internal self tests and monitors the operation of internal components including DC voltage/current sensor and the AC voltage/current sensor. If an SOBDM internal component failure occurs DTC U3000:49 sets. Presence of this DTC illuminates the Charger Service Required indicator in the IPC and results in the CSI (Charge Status Indicator) flashing a fault pattern and the vehicle will not charge."

When this code is present and keeps coming back, the service manual calls for replacing the on-board charger.

So it might be time to visit the dealer. Perhaps the higher amperage is triggering the internal fault in the charger more so than lower amperage. Tell them they need to test it with a 40+ amp EVSE.

Thanks so much Lee - I really appreciate it! When I ask the EV Tech to look for the error code you are seeing is there I time stamp I can give them? Likely around 5:30 pm today

You are awesome, really appreciate it.

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